2012 Football Hall Of Fame Members & The Disgusting Process That Got Them In

Courtesy ESPN

First of all I wish to make sure that I don't
forget to congratulate the newest members of
the Pro Football Hall of Fame, they are a
deserving group and this piece should do next
to nothing to take away from their hard work
and dedication. Curtis Martin, Willie Roaf,
Dermontti Dawson, Chris Doleman, Cortez
Kennedy, and senior selection Jack Butler are
the 2012 inductees. That's the Good news.

The bad news is that the group who had the job
and honor of electing them in, are a bunch of
MORONS! Between the Jerks up in Cooperstown
and the almighty dipsh*ts that are given this
assignment, it is extremely hard to tell which
group tops the other for ineptitude. I wrote
a piece regarding this very same issue back in
August to make a case for Ray Guy who is without
question the best punter the game has ever seen,
and wrote a piece back in December about the
recent induction of Ron Santo into Cooperstown.
Time and time again the same question begs to be
answered when the likes of Santo in Baseball and
Jack Butler for the NFL today get inducted, What
makes them a Hall of Famer today, that didn't make
them one in _______(You fill in the year)?

Butler last played pro football back in 1959, and
today someone realized that he belonged in the
Hall of Fame? FORTY THREE YEARS later, Really ?
Are you kidding me??? What kind of sick joke is
this??? There have been far too many players
inducted in after their death, fortunately Butler
84 is still alive, but why did he have too wait
so long to get a chance to enjoy this honor?

Dick Stanfel is 84 and alive as well, but he
won't get that pleasure today, he was denied.
I don't know enough about Stanfel to make a case
for him, but I do know enough about the likes of
Bill Parcells, Charles Haley, and Tim Brown that
I can say they definitely deserve to be in, but
today they too were denied, as were Chris Carter,
Andre Reed, Kevin Greene, Aeneas Williams, and
Will Shields. The crappiest part about those that
didn't get in, is that some will, but NOT today.
This is a long and complicated process that the
list of men at the end of this article are trusted
to carry out and yet they seemingly toy with the
fate of the men who actually PLAYED he game.

As a Raider fan myself, I can stand atop a mountain
and scream out more names than you can imagine,
but the again I am all to used to this. If you look
at your favorite team you too will find a laundry
list of players that legitimately belong as well,
so I know that there I am not alone. I could also
go on for days at how corrupt this process has
become, and I feel like no one is listening.
It's just one more story for the water cooler.
I know that you might notice that I didn't mention
the NBA or NHL Hall of Fames, but I don't know
enough about their issues to state them here, I
just hope they are better, even if only a little.

Also please try to grasp this if you will as I wrap
this up, the biggest gripe is not that a player does
or doesn't get elected, but that it's become so
political, and writers hold these life long grudges
against players and organizations which then in turn
influence the way the vote. Whispers today had the
rejection of Bill Parcells come down to a matter of
not being well liked. Who cares, is it a popularity
contest? In using baseball again for a moment, I
ask this, why did Eddie Murray not get in on his 1st
year of eligibility? Oh yeah, he too was not well
liked. A player close to my heart like Ken Stabler
who came out of Alabama right after Joe Namath is
not in, but may get in later, and yet he has better
numbers than Namath, just as many Super Bowl rings,
a better winning percentage, & completion percentage,
and yet Namath is in, but Stabler is not.

I could really go on, and on with the likes of Tom
Flores, Cliff Branch, Lester Hayes, Tim Brown, Ray
Guy, etc., but I won't. I will always ask this one
question if they do eventually get elected in, as I
will with any other player who didn't get in, in the
first two or three years of eligibilty; Why is it
that without them playing one more play, coaching
one more player or deciding one more game, they are
in the Hall of Fame now? Why?

Here are the folks you can ask, if you wish to:
Ari Kent Somers, Arizona Republic
Atl Len Pasquarelli, The Sports Xchange
Bal Scott Garceau, WMAR-TV
Buf Mark Gaughan, Buffalo News
Car Darin Gantt, Rock Hill Herald
Chi Dan Pompei, Chicago Tribune
Cin Joe Reedy, Cincinnati Enquirer
Cle Tony Grossi, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Dal Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News
Den Jeff Legwold, Denver Post
GB Cliff Christl, Green Bay Press-Gazette
Hou John McClain, Houston Chronicle
Ind Mike Chappell, Indianapolis Star
Jac Sam Kouvaris, WJXT-TV
KC Bob Gretz, KCFootballReport.com
Mia Edwin Pope, Miami Herald
Min Sid Hartman, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
NE Ron Borges, Boston Herald
NO Pete Finney, Times-Picayune
NYG Bob Glauber, Newsday
NYJ Gary Myers, New York Daily News
Oak Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange
Phi Paul Domowitch, Philadelphia Daily News
Pit Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
StL Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
SD Nick Canepa, San Diego Union Tribune
SF Nancy Gay, FoxSports.com
Sea Mike Sando, ESPN.com
Tam Ira Kaufman, Tampa Tribune
Ten David Climer, The Tennessean
Was David Elfin, AOL Fanhouse
Darryl Ledbetter Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At Large Howard Balzer, The Sports Xchange
At Large Jarrett Bell, USA Today
At Large John Clayton, ESPN/ESPN Magazine
At Large John Czarnecki, FOXSports.com
At Large Dave Goldberg, AOL Sports/Fanhouse
At Large Peter King, Sports Illustrated
At Large Ira Miller, The Sports Xchange
At Large Len Shapiro, Miami Herald
At Large Vito Stellino, Florida Times Union
At Large Jim Trotter, Sports Illustrated
At Large Charean Williams, Ft. Worth Star Telegram


Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Ron Santo Enter Hall Of Fame, What A Shame

Stephen J. Carrera - AP

The story title may mislead many of you, but it annoys
the absolute cr@p out of me. One year and two days
after Ron Santo died those dictators that hold a man's
dignity in their claws decided that it was time to let
Ron Santo into the Baseball Hall of Fame. What a load
of cr@p, really, what BS.

Their were very few humans associated with the Cubs
organization that were more beloved than Ron Santo.
I never had the pleasure of seeing him play, and I
have no personal stake in this fight, but what a joke.
What? He is a Hall of Famer today, but he wasn't
yesterday, or last week, or last year? These voters
make me sick. I am the biggest Pete Rose detractor
there is out there, but even I can tell you that that
degenerate gambler belongs in the Hall of Fame.
The MLB, and NFL Hall of Fame voters are the most
pompous, arrogant, self centered individuals in all of
sports. They make some of those money grubbing players
that we complain about seem like humble saints.

I don't know his stats well enough to say whether or
not he deserves to be in the HOF or not, but that is
truly irrelevant here. The man died at the age of 70,
he was a cripple for all intent and purposes, and had
more than half his legs amputated, and they couldn't
give one of the most happy go lucky people ever to wear
a Cubs uniform 2 minutes of pleasure? Are you friggin'
kidding me?!

On a side note keep in mind that Pro Football has been
around more than 100 years, and yet the Pro Football
Hall of Fame, Not The NFL Hall of Fame(Doesn't exist)
has one kicker, and no punters in the HOF. They have
one quasi punter, but no true punter, and yet you
don't play game without one. Think these voters are
not worse than most New York City Co-Op Boards?
Then you have not been paying attention.


Tweet Thank You Al Davis !

Hall of Fame or Shame Full Group ?

Listed below are the writers, journalists, arrogant
shmucks that vote on who gets into the Pro Football
Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio. Of course it goes
without saying that the above description does not
apply to all these folks, but there are certainly
enough in that bunch that the description needed
to be included, at least in my eyes. These folks
have not always been responsible for HOF voting,
yet they are right now, and the most glaring
omission every year seems to be that on a football
field their are usually 33 positions filled, and
even more blame to pass around when things go bad,
but not one single Punter in those hallowed halls
in Canton. Hard to believe, don't you think?
That in approximately 100 years of football, the
HOF voters have not deemed ONE Punter worthy of
this distinction. Keep in mind that this is not
the NFL hall of fame, but it is rather the PRO
FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME, and though we know that
it is clearly dominated by players that made
their name in the NFL, it is not the NFL HOF.

Going into the HOF is not just something that is
an honor for many players, it is also a way to
continue making a living once it's clear that
they have no other way to do so in the game.
Not everyone becomes a coach, exec, or agent,
and like everything else in real life, not all
of us are good at managing our money. Once a
player is elected he also can right some
financial wrongs. Autographs become a commodity.
You can go from signing your autograph for $5 a
pop to signing them for $25. This is just an
example, but a decent one at that.

And, oh yeah, even though it's not pro football,
college football gives out the Ray Guy award every
year the the country's best punter.

Ray Guy, a three time Superbowl champion, 7 time
Pro Bowler, 3 Time First team All Pro, and the
first Punter to EVER be drafted in the 1st round,
as well as being elected the Punter for the NFL's
75th anniversary team is NOT, NOT in the Hall of
Fame. This fact alone is frustrating enough, but
what probably takes the cake on this is that when
asked most of the writers/voters will tell you,
"oh, he'll get in". To put it mildly WTF??????
What makes someone a HOF'er in ten years, or worse
yet, when he's dead, that doesn't make him one
today? Why must these idiots given this huge
responsibility behave like such children?

Ray Guy in some ways can be seen as a shmuck as
well if you like, but just maybe. You see, Guy
had to file for bankruptcy, and though it's
quite possible that this is very much his own
fault, it is also possible that just like the
rest of us, times are bad, money's tight, and
the economy stinks. Because of this bankruptcy,
he has been ordered by a judge to sell his
Superbowl rings to help raise money to pay off
his debts, and though I agree that this may be
the right thing to do, he may not have to if
there was another way to raise these funds.
Unlike many other ex pro athletes, Guy has not
been accused of Check Fraud, Ponzi Schemes,
Fraud, etc., etc. Ray Guy has put himself in
a bad situation, one he created. Why must
the voters take away something he earned in his
living years only to award it to him when it's
too late for him to enjoy it? Is he deserving
of the same fate as Pete Rose?

It's clear here, and I say/write it often, I am
not the most eloquent writer. Most of my best
work is done verbally in front of a microphone,
but I hope this doesn't get in the way of the
point I have tried to make here. You may not
be a Ray Guy fan, or a Raider fan, or even care
about the HOF, but if you are sports fan enough
to read this far into this piece, then you should
consider email one of these writers, especially
the ones in your city, or all of them if you have
it in you and let them know that this silly
waiting game serves no purpose. It does not
reward these players for the accolades they have
earned. It merely displays a power trip that is
not worthy of true journalistic integrity.
Ray Guy is NOT the only player affected here, but
he merits being mentioned when you consider that
you cannot play football on Sunday without a
punter with the current rules, but these voters
want you to think that they have been all along.


Ari Kent Somers, Arizona Republic
Atl Len Pasquarelli, The Sports Xchange
Bal Scott Garceau, WMAR-TV
Buf Mark Gaughan, Buffalo News
Car Darin Gantt, Rock Hill Herald
Chi Dan Pompei, Chicago Tribune
Cin Joe Reedy, Cincinnati Enquirer
Cle Tony Grossi, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Dal Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News
Den Jeff Legwold, Denver Post
Det Tom Kowalski, Booth Newspapers (Deceased 8/29/11)
GB Cliff Christl, Green Bay Press-Gazette
Hou John McClain, Houston Chronicle
Ind Mike Chappell, Indianapolis Star
Jac Sam Kouvaris, WJXT-TV
KC Bob Gretz, KCFootballReport.com
Mia Edwin Pope, Miami Herald
Min Sid Hartman, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
NE Ron Borges, Boston Herald
NO Pete Finney, Times-Picayune
NYG Bob Glauber, Newsday
NYJ Gary Myers, New York Daily News
Oak Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange
Phi Paul Domowitch, Philadelphia Daily News
Pit Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
StL Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
SD Nick Canepa, San Diego Union Tribune
SF Nancy Gay, FoxSports.com
Sea Mike Sando, ESPN.com
Tam Ira Kaufman, Tampa Tribune
Ten David Climer, The Tennessean
Was David Elfin, AOL Fanhouse
Darryl Ledbetter Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At Large Howard Balzer, The Sports Xchange
At Large Jarrett Bell, USA Today
At Large John Clayton, ESPN/ESPN Magazine
At Large John Czarnecki, FOXSports.com
At Large Dave Goldberg, AOL Sports/Fanhouse
At Large Peter King, Sports Illustrated
At Large Ira Miller, The Sports Xchange
At Large Len Shapiro, Miami Herald
At Large Vito Stellino, Florida Times Union
At Large Jim Trotter, Sports Illustrated
At Large Charean Williams, Ft. Worth Star Telegram